Where lovers of the past take centre stage

Turtle Bunbury is inviting you into his family’s stately home, Lisnavagh House, for a one-of-a-kind history festival,says Arlene Harris

IRELAND is steeped in culture. Our rich historical past has shaped the people we are and while we all have stories and memories passed down, not many of us have spent a childhood immersed in our heritage.

But journalist and writer Turtle Bunbury was raised in Lisnavagh House in Carlow. The beautiful, stately dwelling was built in the 1600s and has been in his family since, serving as an idyllic childhood home and as the motivation for Bunbury’s fascination with the past.

Having written many historical articles and books, Bunbury has put his love of history into action and will host Ireland’s inaugural historical festival at Lisnavagh House on Jun 9 and 10.

“I have been a historical bore since I was about five and there’s no doubt growing up in this house made me an historical person,” says Bunbury (who is married to Ally and has two daughters, Jemima 5, and Bay, 3). “I was a toy-soldier fanatic, forever waging wild, tactically unsound battles over landscapes made up of bread-bin hills and my father’s welly-boot caves. And the walls had portraits that would eyeball me wherever I went — they used to scare the hell out of me until I worked out who they all were. Now, they’re like old friends and I even wink at them on occasion,” he says.

“The house is steeped in history, right back to when my ancestors came to Ireland (from England) in the late 1600s and built Lisnavagh House. Then, a Bunbury married the heiress of a corrupt banker and secured a small fortune that sustained the family through until the early 20th century, during which time they built a bigger house — it was massive, probably the biggest house in Carlow.”

“My grandparents resized the house in 1952 and it’s now a rather more manageable home, where my eldest brother and his wife live and they run it as an upmarket wedding venue. They’ve very kindly lent it to me for the History Festival, and while most of the events will take place in a marquee on the lawn, the eight library events will take place in the magnificent, oak-panelled library.”

Although it will be the first festival of its kind in the country, Bunbury says we have a wealth of suitable experience and knowledge.

“There’s hardly an acre of Ireland which hasn’t been impacted by an incident from the annals of history,” he says. “The countryside is smothered in ring-forts and dolmens, battlefields and churches, ruined castles and lonely graveyards, and that’s before you get near the towns and cities.

“The big trees that sprawl upon our skyline were planted by men and women, 150, 200 years ago. History is a living, breathing, ever-evolving and utterly fascinating entity.

“I feel the whole concept of history has changed dramatically in the past decade,” he says. “It’s no longer simply an endless dirge about dates. It’s become a lot more colourful, dramatic and relevant.

“The internet has completely fuelled a new age of genealogy, where you have shows like Who Do You Think You Are? and The Genealogy Road Show, which have given everybody an excuse to stop for a moment and think about their own forebears — about their grandparents and great-grandparents, what they did with their lives and where they were from.

“So, when you juggle this new and rapidly expanding online interest with the richness of our actual history, I think you have something that is fast-approaching a phenomenon.”

What will the festival involve?

“It’s going to be full of colour and drama and fun and wisdom. The line-up is on the button, with upwards of 30 historians rocking around the place. Fans of history on the radio will recognise Myles Dungan, Patrick Geoghegan and Tommy Graham.”

Journalist, author and royal blogger, Tom Sykes shares an office with Turtle and is married to his sister Sasha. He is also on the line-up for the festival and will be discussing a modern event which changed history.

“I am going to be talking about the Queen’s visit to Ireland last year,” says Sykes. “I felt it was such a wonderful, joyous healing event. It was also the single most political thing the Queen has ever done.”

Topics will also include the Irish in the American Civil War, the fate of Irish soldiers who served for Britain in WWII and the once-legendary Jammets restaurant in Dublin! There will also be contributions from David Norris, Diarmaid Ferriter, Ruth Dudley-Edwards and Manchan Magan.!

Tickets to the History Festival of Ireland cost €10 per person, and separate talks in the house library will cost an additional €10 per person.

* www.thehistoryfestivalofireland.com and www.lisnavagh.com